Uncasville man leads state police on early morning pursuit

An Uncasville man who was driving in front of a state trooper responding to an accident early this morning, lead state police on a chase after he thought police were trying to stop him.

In his report, Trooper Timothy Bettencourt said he was westbound on Route 2 in Preston with his lights and siren on at 12:40 a.m. when he came upon a car driven by Reggie Cruse, 60, of 90 Leffingwell Road, Apt. 3.

Instead of pulling over, Cruse led the trooper on a pursuit onto Route 2A and then north on Route 2 in Norwich. That’s when Cruse pulled into a parking lot and tried to flee on foot. Bettencourt’s K9 partner Blaze apprehended Cruse a short distance away. Cruse was taken to the William W. Backus Hospital for treatment of injuries he sustained in the apprehension.

Cruse was charged with reckless driving, disobeying the signal of an officer, failure to obey a traffic control signal, driving without a license and interfering with a police officer. He was released on a $5,000 non surety bond and is slated to appear in Norwich Superior Court on Nov. 29.